Today's News

CHRISTIANSBURG — Fingerprint and DNA evidence is revealing more links between a murder victim and two suspects in her death.

Nicole Lovell, 13, of Blacksburg was killed in January 2016 and her body was found a few days later near Galax.

Evidence filed with the Montgomery County Circuit Court shows Lovell’s blood on tools, cleaning supplies, boots and other evidence. The fingerprints of the two suspects also appear on several items, according to court documents.

RICHMOND — Even before Ralph Northam was sworn in Saturday as Virginia’s governor, he was contemplating what he wants to leave behind in four years.

“My legacy would be to make sure that all Virginians have access to good health care and that all of our children have access to a world-class education. If I can do those two things, I’ll be content with my four years,” Northam said.

HILLSVILLE — A stretch of highway U.S. 52 in Carroll County may soon be named to honor veterans.

The Carroll County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Jan. 8 to name the portion of U.S. 52 that runs from the North Carolina border in Cana to the south and to the Wythe County line to the north “Veterans Memorial Highway.”

WHITETOP — The Grayson County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of a Whitetop man who was found in his home on Jan. 9.

According to a news release from Sheriff Richard Vaughan, members of the sheriff’s office responded to 2248 Whitetop Gap Road to conduct a death investigation. Jacob Lester Richardson, 38, was discovered deceased in the basement of the residence.

Southwest Virginia is entering the fourth week of a rise in flu-like symptoms being seen at emergency rooms and urgent care centers, according to Mount Rogers Health District Director Dr. Karen Shelton.

She warned that the flu strain is stronger this year, and both A- and B-type flu strains are prevalent. Type A is found in multiple species, changes and morphs new strains constantly and is the type responsible for epidemics; Type B is only found in humans and is usually somewhat less severe.

It often unfolds in predictable fashion, carried out by ordinary citizens in stuffy church assembly halls and drafty school gymnasiums and overseen by a phalanx of volunteers and public officials committed to due process and accurate results.

But sometimes, on the rarest of occasions and in the oddest of circumstances, popular democracy means control of the House of Delegates is effectively determined by which film canister is drawn from a blue ceramic bowl in a Richmond meeting room.